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NEW YORK — American shoppers say they are very concerned about the safety of their personal
information in the wake of a massive security breach at Target, but many aren’t taking steps to
ensure their data is more secure, a new poll found.

The Associated Press-GfK poll finds that Americans are apathetic about trying to protect their
data despite the breach that compromised 40 million credit and debit cards and personal information
of up to 70 million customers.

In the survey, nearly half of Americans said they are extremely concerned about their personal
data when shopping in stores, 61 percent when spending online, and 62 percent when buying on mobile
phones.

But just 37 percent have tried to use cash for purchases rather than pay with plastic in
response to data thefts such as the one at Target. Only 41 percent have checked their credit
reports. Even fewer have changed their online passwords at retailers’ websites, requested new
credit- or debit-card numbers from their bank, or signed up for a credit-monitoring service.

The poll offers insight into the effects that big data breaches can have on consumer behavior.
There have been worries that shoppers would dramatically change their habits after December, when
Target announced the breach that could wind up being the largest in U.S. history. Weeks later,
those concerns were elevated when the luxury retailer Neiman Marcus disclosed that it, too, had a
breach that might have compromised 1.1 million debit and credit cards.

But security experts say the results show that Americans have come to expect security theft is a
possibility when they use their credit or debit cards or provide retailers with phone numbers,
emails and other personal information.

“They … just chalk it up to … ‘It’s part of life,’” said Cameron Camp, security researcher for
the global security firm ESET. Camp believes that people don’t think they will be liable for
fraudulent charges.

Experts also say that although nearly 4 in 10 shoppers say they have been victimized by
personal-data theft, most expect credit-card companies, banks or retailers to take
responsibility.

Thirty-eight percent report that they think someone has made unauthorized purchases using their
credit or debit card without it having been physically stolen, or that someone has used their
information to apply for a fraudulent line of credit, the poll found. And just over a third think
their personal information was compromised in the breach at Target.

But the survey shows that just 37 percent say consumers bear most of the responsibility for
keeping data safe, while 88 percent place the burden on the retailers. Six in 10 say the banks that
provide credit or debit cards or the credit bureaus should bear most of the responsibility.

Americans who have been victims of personal-data theft are more wary. In that group, 52 percent
have checked their credit report, while 41 percent have tried to use cash more often. Twenty-eight
percent have signed up for a credit-monitoring service.

The poll of 1,060 adults from Jan. 17 to 21 has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9
percentage points.